A student discovers a strange sonnet in a library’s collection of Italian Renaissance poetry. This leads him to another, greater revelation – a centuries-old story of lust, greed and killings – all the sins of a single man. The student is soon to find out that this mysterious persona is in the middle of one of the most shameful chapters of the Vatican's history.Refering back to the Chaos Gate in the short novel Other Worlds Than These, Beyond the Gate is a collection of a dozen Sci-Fi and Fantasy short stories that give further views of the worlds beyond our own.A Story for Enchu- A young Amazon child is told a story about the days proceeding his birth.And the Scroll Read... - Old scrolls always say interesting things!Statues in the Southern Marsh- A young magician living in a swampland meets a friend of his late father.Chapter 20- The Lost Chapter- The missing chapter from the book Saving John.Hill 136- An airship crew pick up an unexpected passenger on a secluded hilltop.The Treasure Map- On a summer morning, three youths have the adventure of their young lives.The Bronze Coin- A gas station attendant flips a special coin, sending him places he never thought he could be.The Supervisor- The final part of The Treasure Map trilogy finds Aros and Vega confronted by a tourist with the upper hand.Seven Forty Seven- An EMT on a transfer ambulance has a patient he will never forget.Blackheart- Across a shallow sea on a clouded world, a nameless traveler walks toward a great mountain and his fate.A Deep Dive- A group of four divers go for a dive in the morning and come back with a fifth late in the evening.Vega's Lullaby- "They had just made it out of one war and found themselves thrust into another..."

What if today, was really tomorrow? Read this chilling tale of a man, who has lost his time.Lost time is the second story in the Tales From The Backwoods series. It is a short tale of a man struggling to sort reality from something else. Is it an elaborate hoax involving everyone he knows, or has he truly lost days at a time without any recollection of the Lost Time? Please enjoy this short tale and watch for more to come. Thank you for reading ~Backwoods~

Nowhere is Patricia Highsmith's affinity for animals more apparent than in The Animal-Lover's Book of Beastly Murder, for here she transfers the murderous thoughts and rages most associated with humans onto the animals themselves. You will meet, for example, in "In the Dead of Truffle Season," a truffle-hunting pig who tries to whet his own appetite for a while; or Jumbo in "Chorus Girl's Absolutely Final Performance," a lonely, old circus elephant who decides she's had enough of show business and cruel trainers for one lifetime. In this satirical reprise of Kafka, cats, dogs, and breeding rodents are no longer ordinary beings in the happy home, but actually have the power to destroy the world in which we live.

As a child. Jerrick Ray Davis dreams he delivers powerful speeches to the people. He also dreams he builds an Empire that spans across the North and South Americas. These are not simple day dreams, but ideas that map out Jerrick’s destiny. Jerrick rises up out of the wreckage and devastation of the Michigan economy and turns his dreams into reality...As a child, Jerrick Ray Davis dreams, he delivers powerful speeches to the people. He also dreams he builds an Empire that spans across the North and South Americas. These are not simple day dreams, but ideas that map out Jerrick’s destiny. Jerrick rises up out of the wreckage and devastation of the Michigan economy and turns his dreams into reality. Jerrick Davis and his political party, the National Workers’ Party, take over the United States government and then the rest of the Americas.Jerrick Ray Davis becomes the most powerful man in the 21st century, and the world trembles at his sight. Jerrick Ray Davis also makes a promise to the people. After the 2008 Financial Crisis, he will put all Americans back to work. Good-paying jobs will be plentiful again. Of course, Jerrick Davis puts everyone back to work, building his Empire. This story is about Jerrick Ray Davis’ life from his early childhood to his rise in power. Please read this story with caution, we may be all toiling hard on Jerrick Ray Davis’ Empire. As Jerrick Ray Davis says, “All Americans will be united under one flag.”

What if your greatest fears were used as a drug? Would it be a high you'd be interested in? Could you survive the ordeal? Or would it break you?Anna is about to find out.A New Kind of High is a 4,000 word short YA horror/suspense story.When addiction and obsession are confused with love, life becomes hazed.After Taylor Thompson receives an acceptance letter to a university an hour away, she can taste freedom. Her life is controlled by a small town and a strict father. When Taylor finds a local bar that’s hiring a waitress she applies and gets the position. However, one bartender leaves her questioning the acceptance of her new job.Hayze Clark, the bartender that keeps the customers coming back. His dark eyes pierce through your soul, drawing you near. The tattoos bellowing down his arms and the scar that lines his left eyebrow keep you at a safe distance; his carefree attitude lures Taylor into friendship. She's excited to have found the perfect distraction, and new friendship to pull herself from her misery. The closer she gets, the more secrets are revealed, lies are told, and tears are shed. Their relationship falters and Taylor is left unsure if she's willing to pick up the pieces of this broken guy.

John Mortenson, a poor student at an Ivy League university trying to make some easy money gets trapped in a bizarre psychological experiment. (This story was inspired by the true story of Ted Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber, and the mind control experiments he was subjected to as a young Harvard student.)John Mortenson is a highly intelligent but poor student at an Ivy League university. One day, when he returns to his dorm, he sees a note taped up to his door. It's an invitation to a philosophical discussion. Participants will be paid! Being in dire need of funds and a lover of philosophy, he decides to go. This may turn out to be the worst decision he's ever made.(This story was inspired by the true story of Ted Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber, and the mind control experiments he was subjected to as a young Harvard student.)

F. Paul Wilson’s powerful World War II novel is an unforgettable saga of passion and terror, the ravages of war, the pain of betrayal, and the glory of love. At the heart of the story are four people torn between love and honor:  Matsuo Okumo, born in Japan, raised in America, and hated in both lands; Hiroki Okumo, his brother, a modern samurai sworn to serve a secret cult and the almighty Emperor; Meiko Satsuma, the woman they both love; and Frank Slater, the American who turned away when Matsuo needed him, and who now struggles to repay his debt of honor.

In his novels and stories, F. Paul Wilson has spent over four decades chronicling a Secret History of human civilization – the events, the conspiracies, the human and non-human forces that have shaped its course. A history of the world that remains undiscovered, unexplored, and unknown to most of humanity. Some of this Secret History has been revealed in his Adversary Cycle, some in his Repairman Jack novels, and bits and pieces in other, seemingly unconnected works. Taken together, even these millions of words barely scratch the surface of what has been going on behind the scenes, hidden from the workaday world. Running nearly 100,000 words, SCENES FROM THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE WORLD acts as a sampler and organizer of the thirty plus novels and various short stories that form the huge mosaic Wilson has assembled. It includes unseen artwork and a new timeline available nowhere else.

Can't escape the haunting memories of the past? Try to run faster.Luna Reyes, how it all began. A poor little girl who experienced one too many tragedies. Without anyone keeping her tied to her past, she begins to lose herself.Age 24, wanted for the mass murder of criminals in America. Name and identity unknown, but an unspoken hero to many.From the ashes of loss, the Lady Messiah is born.

In the era before he created moody private investigator Matthew Scudder, burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, sleepless spy Evan Tanner, and the amiable hit man Keller—and years before his first Edgar Award—a young writer named Lawrence Block submitted a story titled "You Can't Lose" to Manhunt magazine. It was published, and the rest is history.One Night Stands and Lost Weekends is a sterling collection of short crime fiction and suspense novelettes penned between 1958 and 1962 by a budding young master and soon-to-be Grand Master—an essential slice of genre history, and more fun than a high-speed police chase following a bank job gone bad.

Unknown

He'd done this a few times before. By now, he'd gotten it down to a science - the hunt, the kill, and the alibi. This time was no different than any other. In fact, she was almost making it all too easy for him. She seemed just like all the others before her: ready, willing, and even eager, although what he had in mind for her was not what she expected. However, appearances weren't everything...He'd done this a few times before. By now, he'd gotten it down to a science - the hunt, the kill, and the alibi. This time was no different than any other. In fact, she was almost making it all too easy for him. She seemed just like all the others before her: ready, willing, and even eager, although what he had in mind for her was not what she expected. However, appearances weren't everything. As it turned out, he had never before met a woman like Bella. And he just may never have the luxury - or the misfortune - to ever do so again.

One can live for several weeks without food but only a few days without water, a fact that seventeen year old Niko is only too aware of as she struggles to provide for her two younger brothers in a post-apocalyptic landscape where the rain burns like acid, food grows scarce, and any Slither that crosses her path is laid low before it can sink its teeth into her.One can live for several weeks without food but only a few days without water, a fact that seventeen year old Niko is only too aware of as she struggles to provide for her two younger brothers in a post-apocalyptic landscape where the rain burns like acid, food grows scarce, and any Slither that crosses her path is laid low before it can sink its teeth into her.Then one night everything she's ever worked for, everything she's ever loved is consumed by a raging fire, leaving her with one brother dead, the other missing and herself gravely injured.She's rescued by the Rose Circle, a rogue group of Slither hunters. They sneak her into Amaryllis City, a decadent metropolis where those able to afford the exorbitant entrance fee live a life of relative ease.But for Niko, Amaryllis City is not the haven she grew up believing it would be, the deeper she delves the nastier it gets and when her unique abilities as a Slither hunter are discovered things get positively filthy.All Niko ever wanted to do was find her baby brother but that's proving to be harder than she ever would have expected.

The company chairman lay dead in the woods, his orange hunting jacket punctured by a bullet at close range. Around him stood the four executives with whom he had been hunting, each with a reason not to be sorry about the man's death. A classic murder mystery, it would seem: the kind where the detective gathers everyone together at the end and solves the case. But Lucas Davenport knows it's not going to be that easy. There are currents running through this group, hints and whispers of something much greater than the murder of a single man. Some time soon, unless he could stop it, there would be other deaths - and Davenport can't help but wonder if maybe the final death might be his own ...

They laughed at Roberto Valdez and then ignored him. But when a dark-skinned man was holed up in a shack with a gun, they sent the part-time town constable to deal with the problem -- and made sure he had no choice but to gun the fugitive down. Trouble was, Valdez killed an innocent man. And when he asked for justice -- and some money for the dead man's woman -- they beat Valdez and tied him to a cross. They were still laughing when Valdez came back. And then they began to die...